Big 12 Insider: Big 12/SEC College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field remains a go
As of Thursday afternoon, the State Farm College Baseball Showdown is going on as planned at Globe Life Field from Saturday through Monday. Six of the top-10 teams in the country from the Big 12 and SEC are scheduled to play and, despite weather- and water-related issues in Arlington, the tournament remains a go.
Every out-of-town team is expected to travel to Arlington for the tournament, as of Thursday evening. There had been some discussions of possible replacement teams if a school couldn’t travel because of the winter storm.
TCU, Texas and Texas Tech will represent the Big 12 and will each play Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Arkansas in a round-robin format over three days.
A Texas Rangers spokesman said the organization is working with City of Arlington officials to make sure the tournament can be held safely for all fans and teams in attendance.
“At this time, we believe we will be able to play this weekend,” Rangers spokesman John Blake said in an email to the Star-Telegram on Thursday afternoon.
Blake added that on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation will be matching all contributions of up to a total $10,000 for individuals making donations to nonprofit entities that are providing assistance to those who have been affected adversely by this week’s weather conditions in Texas.
Tourney talk
Even though it isn’t ideal given the weather situation throughout the region and a limited capacity crowd amid the COVID-19 pandemic, this weekend is a signature event for Globe Life Field, a ballpark that will host more big-time college baseball in the future.
The Big 12 tournament is coming to town starting in 2022 through at least 2024. When the Big 12 baseball coaches met with reporters on a conference call earlier this week, moving the tournament to Arlington was a question posed to each of them by The Oklahoman’s Jacob Unruh.
After all, Oklahoma City is hosting the 2021 tournament and has been the home for 20 of the Big 12’s 23 baseball championships. Arlington hosted the event in 2002 and 2004, while Tulsa was the home site in 2015.
One of the more interesting responses to the change came from TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle. Schlossnagle is fired up that nearby Globe Life Field will be the host ballpark, of course, but also expressed some concerns.
Oklahoma City’s “Bricktown” is a great location with restaurants, bars, hotels and Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark all within walking distance.
“I didn’t know much about Oklahoma City leading up to us joining the Big 12 [in 2012],” Schlossnagle said. “There’s no doubt it’s an incredibly special place. I think Arlington is going to be great, too, but Arlington has its work cut out. There’s no doubt about it — just to create that atmosphere, not just in the ballpark but the entire surrounding area and community.”
Time will tell whether Arlington is the right home for the tournament. At the very least, the Big 12 won’t face any weather delays with a retractable roof and the Metroplex is home to substantial alumni bases for every school.
The hope is it becomes a big-time event in the area. It’s an easy destination for fan bases to get to and it’s at a big-league stadium. Plus, Texas Live! is next door and provides more entertainment and dining options than when Arlington landed previous events such as the Final Four in 2014.
But creating enough buzz and enthusiasm will be a hurdle. We’re talking about a stadium in Globe Life that seats 40,000 compared to OKC’s 9,000. That’s a lot of seats to fill.
The Big 12 and Arlington don’t want this to become “just another event in the Metroplex.” They need it to be something more.
Credit the league for going out and trying something no other Power Five conference has done to date — playing the conference tournament at a big-league venue. Maybe it pays off. Maybe it doesn’t.
“We’re excited for the move,” Schlossnagle said, “but definitely have concerns of creating the atmosphere that was up there in Bricktown.”
Added Texas coach David Pierce: “I think it’s going to be great. I’m going to miss Oklahoma City, but at the same time excited about the change as well.”
Tennis talk
The Big 12 scored a big-time win in men’s tennis this last week.
No. 3 TCU rallied from behind to knock off No. 1 USC in the ITA Indoor National Championships. It’s the first win over a No. 1 ranked opponent in the David Roditi era.
The highlight was TCU’s Alastair Gray defeating No. 1 Daniel Cukierman in three sets to clinch the dual.
Briefly
▪ The Big 12 rescheduled three women’s basketball games this week. Baylor at Oklahoma will be played on Sunday (originally scheduled for Saturday), Texas Tech at Oklahoma will be played on March 1 (originally scheduled for Feb. 17), and Texas at TCU will be played on March 7 (originally scheduled for Feb. 17).
▪ TCU released its spring soccer schedule on Thursday. The Frogs, winners of the 2020 Big 12 championship, are scheduled to open spring play against Baylor on March 6 in Fort Worth. Other notable Big 12 games include home games against Oklahoma (March 20) and Oklahoma State (April 3).
▪ The Big 12 announced plans to partner with the Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City during the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in Kansas City next month. Fans who attend the tournaments are encouraged to donate blood and will be entered into a drawing for a piece of autographed memorabilia from their favorite Big 12 men’s basketball coach. More information, including scheduling appointments, is available at https://www.savealifenow.org.
This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 6:30 PM.
